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Turkey

E-signatures in commercial contracts in Turkey

Table of contents
  1. Definition and formal requirements of written legal statements or legal statements legally binding if the law requires written form
  2. Examples for legal statements and contracts where written form is required
  3. Are there special legal provisions for digital archiving and storage of electronic documents? If yes, please describe them
  4. Main and relevant court practices
  5. In which cases are documents only with wet ink signatures accepted?
  6. List of the relevant national legislation
  7. Are the following use cases deemed as written legal statements / legal statements legally binding if the law requires written form in your jurisdiction?
Turkey

Written legal statements shall include the signature of the party undertaking a commitment. Such a signature can be made with either wet ink or with a secured electronic signature. 

  • Assignment of Claims (alacağın temliki sözleşmeleri);
  • Promise of Movable Gift (taşınır bağışlama vaadi),
  • Contract of Surety (kefalet sözleşmeleri),
  • Bank Guarantee Letter (banka teminat mektubu) etc.

There is no special legal regulation for archiving and storing electronic documents. However, certain laws refer to electronic archiving. For example, according to the Turkish commercial law, merchants are obliged to store certain documents related to their business activities in physical or electronic form.

4. Main and relevant court practices

There is not a relevant court practice regarding commercial matters concering the use of e-signatures. The Supreme Court's 15th Civil Chamber's 5 June 2018 (with Merits No.2018/1145, Decision No.2018/2363) decision on the other hand pointed out that in case of conflict between a document executed with an electronic signature and a document executed by a handwritten signature, the document executed by electronic signature and registered under UYAP (National Judiciary Informatics System) would have priority (take precedence). 

5. In which cases are documents only with wet ink signatures accepted?

Documents that must be issued in official form will only be accepted with wet ink signatures.

6. List of the relevant national legislation

  • Law on Electronic Signature No. 5070;
  • Regulation on Procedures and Principles to be Applied to Official Correspondence; and
  • Regulation on Procedures and Principles Regarding the Application of Electronic Signature Law.

1. Electronic document signed with qualified electronic signature (QES as defined in the eIDAS Regulation) and with a time stamp

N/A

2. Electronic document signed with qualified electronic signature (QES as defined in the eIDAS Regulation) without a time stamp

N/A

3. Electronic document signed with advanced electronic signature (AdES as defined in the eIDAS Regulation) and with a time stamp

N/A

4. Electronic document signed with advanced electronic signature (AdES as defined in the eIDAS Regulation) without a time stamp

N/A

5. Electronic document signed with advanced biometric signature

No

6. Electronic document signed with a simple, standard electronic signature (SES)

No

7. Scanned electronic version of the original paper-based document with handwritten signature sent as an attachment in ordinary e-mail without an electronic signature, but with standard e-mail signature panel

No

8. Legal statement sent as a text of an ordinary e-mail without an electronic signature, but with a standard e-mail signature panel

No

9. Legal statement sent in an SMS

No

10. Electronic document with a copy-pasted image of a handwritten signature, sent as an attachment of an ordinary e-mail

No

11. Electronic document with the typed name of the signer and sent as an e-mail attachment

No

12. Electronic legal statement sent in a social-media message sending application (e.g. Messenger, Viber, LinkedIn, Facebook message, etc.)

No

13. Electronic legal statement sent in a chat application

No

14. Electronic document created on an electronic platform ensured by the other party requesting the legal statement (without an electronic signature) by another party whom the operator of the platform granted access 

No

15. Electronic document signed in DocuSign/Adobe Sign with a simple standard electronic signature (no QES or AdES)

No

16. Electronic document signed with a qualified electronic seal as defined in the eIDAS Regulation

N/A

17. Agreements accepted by the other party online, by ticking a checkbox or by clicking on a button ("click on agreements")

No

Authors

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Portrait ofDöne Yalçın
Döne Yalçın
Partner
Istanbul
Portrait ofArcan Kemahlı
Arcan Kemahlı